Colorado election officials urge voters to return ballots early

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold speaks at the Denver Elections Office on Oct. 21, 2024. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline)

Colorado election officials are encouraging voters to return their ballot early so they can process results sooner, especially in a year with a lengthy list of issues for voters to decide.

“We are asking people to vote early,” Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López said during a Monday press conference.

The 365 voting centers and 433 drop boxes across the state are now open ahead of Election Day, Nov. 5. Location information is available on the secretary of state’s website. Colorado voters should have received their ballots in the mail by this point and should contact their county clerk if not.

Voting early makes it more likely for results to come in sooner, López said. Ballots that come in before Nov. 4 will be processed ahead of Election Day and will be reflected in the initial result drop around 7 p.m. that night.

“It’s our hope that we get the majority of ballots in before Monday of Election Day,” López said.

So far, Denver turnout is at about 7%.

Voters should mail their ballot by Oct. 28 to ensure it gets to their county clerk in time. People can also vote in person or return their ballot to a drop box until 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, highlighted voting rights on Monday, including the rights of unhoused people and people confined in jails.

“I can confidently say Colorado is the most prepared state in the nation. In the midst of the 2024 presidential election, it’s important that Coloradans know how to cast a ballot, but also know their right to vote is protected,” she said.

Rare electioneering arrest

Various forms of voter intimidation are illegal in Colorado, including carrying a firearm within 100 feet of a voting center or campaigning near a voting center.

On Monday morning, a man in Del Norte was arrested for electioneering outside a voting center, Griswold said during the press conference. Law enforcement confirmed the incident.

A 45-year-old Del Norte resident was telling people to vote for former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, and was waving a Trump flag near the Rio Grande County Annex Building, according to local officials. Election staff and law enforcement asked him to leave several times and he refused, eventually cussing at and physically threatening a sheriff’s deputy, Sheriff Anne Robinson said.

He was arrested on one charge each of electioneering, disorderly conduct, obstruction and resisting arrest. County Clerk Cindy Hill, a Republican, said she thinks this was the first electioneering arrest during her 14-year tenure.

“Colorado voters, you have a right to cast a ballot without intimidation, and we take that very seriously,” Griswold said.

Election officials also released a physical booklet Monday that explains voting rights in the state. House Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat, worked with Griswold’s office to produce the booklet. The short, plain language text is intended to be distributed across the state for voters to reference. It is also available online.

“My parents and grandparents had to face the trauma of being denied the ability to vote because of their skin color, or being told they had to pay a tax or take a literacy test,” Bacon said. “Then I see folks in my generation who had to wait up to seven hours in line in other states and would potentially be criminalized if they wanted to give someone a bottle of water, so my generation is a little skeptical. But for the young people of today, we want you to know that voting is an inherent and fundamental right.

Quentin Young contributed to this report.